Police arrest 36 people for producing counterfeit goods

Chinese police arrested 36 people suspected of manufacturing pirated products and selling them overseas online, China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Wednesday.

Seven fake goods manufacturing dens were busted with help from the US Department of Homeland Security. More than 3,000 pieces of fake products, including watches, leather goods and sunglasses worth 100 million yuan ($15.1 million) were seized, according to a statement on the MPS website on Wednesday.

The statement said US law enforcement departments are conducting a simultaneous investigation on the suspected websites, as well as people who have placed bulk orders on the fake products.

Following a tip at the start of the year, police in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province found an English website that sells such counterfeit products to countries including the US. The police have identified a suspect, surnamed Zhuang, who was allegedly behind that website.

The MPS then reported the case to Homeland Security, and the two sides launched a joint action.

In July, Guangdong police arrested the suspects, and recovered a list of orders from the US. In August, the MPS sent officers to the US for a joint investigation, read the statement.

The investigation is ongoing and focused on the US-based servers and possible domestic fake good wholesale networks.

An unidentified MPS official said the operation between China and the US in recent years deepens bilateral cooperation against crossborder IP infringement, and shows that the two sides both apply a “zero-tolerance policy” to such crimes, according to the statement on the MPS website.